https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=395473 Statements recorded under section 108 of the Customs Act may be used in adjudication as primary material or as corroboration of independent evidence. Where the department seeks to sustain the demand solely on such statements, fairness and natural justice require cross-examination. If the adjudicating authority relies instead on independent documentary and contemporaneous evidence, cross-examination is not mandatory. On the facts, no coercion, detention, or proved retraction was established, and the request to cross-examine the officers who recorded the statements failed because no such officer statements existed. The petitioners were therefore not granted an unconditional right to cross-examine, and the authority was directed to decide whether reliance would be placed solely on the section 108 statements. en-us Tue, 19 May 2020 00:00:00 +0530 Tue, 02 Mar 2021 10:28:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=395473 Statements recorded under section 108 of the Customs Act may be used in adjudication as primary material or as corroboration of independent evidence. Where the department seeks to sustain the demand solely on such statements, fairness and natural justice require cross-examination. If the adjudicating authority relies instead on independent documentary and contemporaneous evidence, cross-examination is not mandatory. On the facts, no coercion, detention, or proved retraction was established, and the request to cross-examine the officers who recorded the statements failed because no such officer statements existed. The petitioners were therefore not granted an unconditional right to cross-examine, and the authority was directed to decide whether reliance would be placed solely on the section 108 statements. Case-Laws Customs Tue, 19 May 2020 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=395473